Survivor: Edge of Extinction Episode 5 "It's Like the Worst Cocktail Party Ever" Analysis

"PB & J powers activate!"

-Aubry Bracco

Wow, I was expecting at least 1 part of this double episode to be a dud, but nope!  Instead we got two action packed parts that have really got me hyped for the rest of the season.  But how was the gameplay is this massive episode?  Let's start the breakdown with the first part of the episode.

Who Played Well:

We'll start with the Manu tribe, where we have the trio of Victoria, Gavin, and Eric who masterfully manipulated Aubry into a false sense of security and voted her out with an Idol and an advantage in her pocket.  Most of the credit has to go to Victoria, but all three of these players did an excellent job in pulling the wool over Aubry's eyes.

Over on the Lesu tribe, we have Kelley who handled the situation with Wardog wanting to turn on Lauren very well.  She kept her cool and went along with what he was saying and saved what she really wanted to say for her confessionals.  She may think Wardog is psycho, but at least she has options moving forward.

I normally don't mention the Edge of Extinction, but there was some actual gameplay there this time. I gotta give props to Keith.  It didn't work out for him, but sneaking off on his own was 100% the right move.  He just needed to be a bit quicker, like Chris and Rick, who both got advantages in the game.  It might have been smart for Rick to give his extra vote to Wendy, but I'm not gonna get too upset about it.

Who Sucked:

Going back over to Manu, we, of course, have to talk about Wendy.  She handled the conversation with Aubry and Victoria very poorly and I'm surprised her indecisiveness didn't make Aubry more suspicious.  Plus she still wouldn't let her tribe go hunt for the chickens.

Over on Lesu, David did very poorly in the challenge and Lauren let her illness get to her.  She needs to stop talking about how bad she feels so much and try to fake being okay.

Finally, Wardog is scheming and plotting too much.  His idea to get rid of Lauren is fine, but he approached Kelley with the plan too soon.  He should have waited until after they lost a challenge to tell her that.  Don't makes moves like that unless you're actually going to Tribal Council.

We really didn't get enough of anyone on the Kama tribe to talk about.

Then we have Aubry, who I love dearly and was bummed to see go out.  Aubry has never been blindsided out of the game before, so I think she missed a lot of the subtle hints that people were coming for her.  She got too comfortable with people she had never voted with.  That said, she is my pick to be the one to come back into the game.

Verdict:

The "Has Got It Going On Award" for part 1 of this episode goes to Victoria Baamonde for leading the plan to get Aubry out.  She lured Aubry into a false sense of security and blasted her out of the game in a perfect manner.

The "Not The Player For Me Award" goes to Wendy Diaz (for the 4th time) for continuing to cause drama over the chickens and for almost giving Aubry a clue to play her Idol.

Now, let's move onto the second part of the episode.

Who Played Well:

We'll start with the previously unseen Kama tribe.  I actually really liked Joe's gameplay in this episode.  With the type of game he plays, Joe doesn't have many strategic options, but I really liked how he stroked Julia's ego and made her feel like a threatening player.

Over on Manu, Eric, Gavin, and Victoria all handled the Double Tribal Council very well.  They came in as a united front and pledged to go to rocks.  Of course this wasn't true, but it was a good way to protect themselves in case one of them was the target.  When Wendy was the one to receive the votes, they all made the correct move in turning on her and saving themselves.

On the Lesu tribe, all four players handled the Tribal Council well by coming in with a united front and convincing the other tribe to flip on Wendy.  I'm also really happy that David has finally put aside his beef with Kelley and chose to work with her instead.  This is what he should have been doing from the beginning.

Kelley and Lauren both have nerves of steel for not playing their Idols.  I know I would have.  It was a risk, but it paid off.  Props to Kelley for finding an Idol under Wardog's nose as well.

Over on the Edge, Keith managed to get himself an advantage in the game.  Good for him for not being polite and letting Reem have the advantage.  This is no time to be a gentleman.

Who Sucked:

Going back to Kama, it's not a huge deal, but Julia did come off looking a bit foolish after her conversation with Joe.  She seems to have fallen for Joe's bait hook, line, and sinker.  Who knows if that will make any difference in the game at all, but it wasn't a great look.

Back on Lesu, we have Wardog, who still did a great job at Tribal Council and had the right idea in voting for Wendy, but the way he went about his plan was a problem.  He pissed off literally everyone on his tribe with his dominating ways and did pretty awful in the challenges to boot.  He's got to dial it back or he'll be out of the game real quick.

I don't want Reem to yell at me, but I have to agree with Chris.  She gave the advantage to Keith.  She knew Keith was self-interested, yet still moved like a snail in getting the advantage.  It's 100% on her.

We didn't see Julie, Ron, or Aurora at all.

As for Wendy, she really should have tried harder with getting Lesu to vote for Eric, Gavin, or Victoria and then flipped.  They had no reason to go to rocks for her, so she should have been more willing to flip on them, but writing a blog about everything Wendy did wrong would take all night, so I'll just end it here.  Great character, horrendous player.

Verdict:

The "Has Got It Going On Award" goes to Kelley Wentworth for finding a Hidden Immunity Idol, holding on to it, handling the Double Tribal Council well, and getting Manu to turn on Wendy.

The "Not The Player For Me Award" goes to Wardog DaSilva for being too domineering in his conversations with teammates and for being really bad in the challenges.

This double episode was really exciting and I'm actually pumped to see the Edge of Extinction reveal.  I have to say, I'm back in on this season and I really hope it stays that way.